Ship construction.



Patented Aug. l2, |902. A. B. WULVIN.

SHIP CONSTRUGTIUN.

(Application led Jan. 17, 1902.)

3 Sheets-Sheet I.

(No Model.)

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No. 706,708. Patented Aug. l2, |9021.

A. a. woLvm. SHIP CONSTRUCTION.

(Application filed Jan. 17, 1902.) (No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

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SHIP CONSTRUCTIDN.

(Application led Jan. 17, 1902.)

3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

(No Model.)

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UNrrEDV STATES PATENT Clinics.

AUGUSTUS B. l/VOLVIN, OF DULUTII, vMINNESO'IA.

-SHIP CONSTRUCTION.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters'latent NO. 706,708, dated August12, 19012.' Application filed January 17, 1902. Serial No. 90,194. (Nomodel.)

To all whom, it may concern/f Be it known that I, AUGUSTUS B. WoLvIN, acitizen of the United States, residing at Duluth, in the county of St.Louis and State of Minnesota, have invented a certain new and usefulImprovement in Ship Construction, of which the following is a full,clear, and exact description, reference beinghad to the accom` panyin'gdrawings.

This invention relates to the construction of ships especially adaptedfor the ore-carrying trade on the Great Lakes. In order that shipsengaged in that trade shall be operated profitably, it is necessary thatthey be loaded and unloaded with the utmostdespatch. With that end inView the Lake Superior ore-docks are provided with pockets or binshaving chutes or spouts through which the ore may be discharged into thehold of a. ship throughthe hatches thereof. With the same end in Viewthe ore-receiving docks in the Lake Erie and Lake Michigan portsareprovided with ponderous unloading machinery, some portion ofA whichpasses through the hatches of the ship down into thehold. The mostadvanced type of such unloading machinery automatically picks up in thehold great quantities of the ore and lifts it out through the hatchesand discharges it onto the ore-pile or into cars. Experience has shownthat the pockets on the ore-docks are' most practical, in view ofexisting conditions, when they have a dock frontage of about twelvefeet; adapted to the construction of the ore-cars from which they arefilled, they hold av convenient quantity of ore, and they are perhaps ofthe most convenient practical size for use in loading the ships nowengaged in the orecarrying trade. They would not be practical if mademuch, if any, larger, because of the disposition of the ore, especiallyif wet, to pack in the pockets. As it is the most serious delaysincident to the loading of ships atthese docks is due tothe packing ofthe ore in the pockets. For this reason it is probable that thesenpocke'tswould be made smaller if it'hadheretoforebeen possible toconstruct ships which would permit the hatches to be placed nearertogether than they are. As a matter oi' fact, however, the constructionof the ore-docks has become standardized, and all of them constructedrel They are thenv cently have pockets whose discharge-spouts are twelvefeet apart. lt is evident that at Vthese particular ore-docksships-could be loaded most quickly if their hatches were `twelve feetbetween centers, because the ore could thenwbe simultaneously dischargedinto Notwithstanding this obvious advantage of having the hatches ofthese ore-carrying ships thus near together, there is not in the lorecarrying trade to-day a single ship capable of being so loaded fromcontiguous pockets. All ot' the ships built in recent years for` theore-carrying trade-ships constructed with all of the skill at thecommand of the builders who had a complete appreciation of the practicaladvantages of a ship capable .of being so loaded at these ore-docks-havetheir hatchestwenty-fourfeetbetweencenters. It is therefore necessary inloading these big ships, Ajmost of which carry more than :ve

loading as well as the loading docks has become more ditcult. Some ofthis unloading machinery projects through the hatches automatic diggingmechanism which picks up great quantities of the ore, in some casesseven or eight tons, more or less, and lifts it out and deposits it inthe cars or on the ore-pile. For the rapid and economical operation ofthis machinery it is necessary that the ships hold be as clear of thestanchions and other parts of the framework as possible, because theyimpede the operation of the machinery, and theyare extremely liabletoinjure such machinery and to be injured by it. The problem, therefore,which is presented to the builders of ships for the ore-carrying tradeis how to build large ships adapted to the conditions'existing at boththe loading the'ship from consecutive pockets'for the en-`tire'distanc'e between the fore and aft hatches.

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and unloading docks. It is believed that the construction shown in thedrawings and hereinafter described and claimed solves this problem to adegree far in advance of any previous construction and solves it in asimple and inexpensive manner.

The invention may be here summarized as consisting in the constructionand combination of parts shown in the drawings, as pointed outdefinitely in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of a part of a ship embodyingthe invention with portions of the spar-deck and of the main deck brokenaway to show as much of the construction as may be shown in such a View.Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view ofa part of a ship embodying theinvention. Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view of the same. Fig. 4 isan enlarged sectional plan View of the stanchion and the main -deckbeams adjacent thereto, showing the manner in which they are connected.

It will be understood that while the drawings show only so much of theship construction as is found between two adjacent bulkheads theconstruction shown may be repeated as many times as is necessary toproduce a hold of the desired length. The construction of the shipforward and aft of the hold maybe as usual in ships of this class.

I will now describe in detail the construction shown in the drawingsembodying the invention.

Referring to the parts by letters, A represents the hull of the ship,which hull is of familiar construction in respect to its ex-4 ternalWalls a, its center keelson ct', its internal vertical side framemembers d2, and the door d3 of the hold. The vertical side frame members61,2 are placed equal distances apart, and if the hatches are to betwelve feet between centers, as shown, these frame members aresubstantially four feet apart.-

Extending across the hold at suitable distances apart, preferablyforty-eight feet, are bulkheads F of familiar construction.

Rising from points directly over the center keelson ct are a pluralityof stanchions B,

. which are suitably secured at their lower ends neXt on opposite sidesof the transverse planes in which said stanchions are located, saidconnections preferably being made by gussetplates I. These stanchionsare column-like structures, which, as shown, are made of twochannel-bars b b, riveted together back to back from their lower ends upto within two feet, more or less, of said deck-beams C. At the upperends of these stanchions are diverging arms formed by bending apart thestanchion members b b, and their upper ends are secured to saiddeck-beams by means of transverse gusset-plates c. Other longitudinalgusset-plates H connect together the two members l) b of said stanchionsat and for a short distance above the points where their divergencebegins, said gusset-plates being riveted to the iianges b of saidstanchion members.

The main deck G, as is common in orecarrying ships, is merely a shelfextending inward from the sides of the hull. This deck is supported bytransverse main-deck beams E, each of which is made, as shown, ofchannel-irons e e', placed back to back and riveted together. One ofthese members e is continuous from one side of the ship to the other andlies against the outer face of one of the stanchion members, the flangesb of said member being cut away to permit such engagement. The othermember e is made of two bars, each of which is butted against a l'langeb' on the other stanchion member, and each of these bars e extends fromthe stanchion toward the side of the ship. A vertical gusset K lies oneach side of the stanchion and between the members e e of the deckbeams.These deck-beams are riveted to these gusset-plates, and thegusset-plates are secured to the flanges of the stanchions by means ofthe angle-irons k. The outer ends of the members e e' of each of thesedeckbeams E diverge, as shown in Fig. l, the di- IOO vergence beginningat points near the inner edge of the main deck. The diverging arms orends of these deck-beam members c e are fastened by means of abracket-plate M to the same vertical frame members a2 to which thedeck-beams O are fastened. Short substantially horizontal beams Eproject inward from the vertical frame members a?, which areintermediate of those frame members to which the ends of the deck-beamsE are secured, said short beams E being connected with said framemembers a2 by means of bracket-plates M. Those parts of the members e eof the deck-beams E which lie between the gusset-plates K and the pointswhere said members diverge, as stated, are riveted together. It iscustomary in ship construction to rivet together the various parts, andit is believed that the parts hereinbefore described as connectedtogether may be most satisfactorily connected in this way--namely, byrivets.

The hatch-comings J, or rather the transverse members thereof, aresecured above and to the transverse spar-deck beams C. It is apparent,therefore, that in the described construction the stanchions B aremidway betweenthe hatches. When thedistance between the frame members0,2 is substantially as specified in the construction described thedistance between the centers of these hatches will be twelve feet. Thehatches themselves are preferably eight feet wide-that is to say, eightfeet measured lengthwise of the ship.

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mate edges of the hatches will be about four feet. It is, however,posssible to place the hatches even nearer together than is shown anddescribed,` and therefore the construction described is adapted not onlyfor ships which may be loaded simultaneously from contiguous ore-pockets on the docks now used, but for ships designed to be so loaded ondocks when the pockets were smaller and their discharge-spouts nearertogether than at present. This construction, therefore, attains oneresult sought for-to wit, of adapting the ship to be loaded fromcontiguous pockets, such as are found on the ore-docks as at presentconstructed, or as they are ever likely to be constructed, because ifany changes are ever made in the size of the pockets they will be madesmaller. There is also a minimum amount of framework in the hold tointerfere with the operation of the unloading machinery at theore-receiving docks, because there is nothing between the sides,excepting only the column-like vertical stanchions placed twelve feetapart and midway between the centers of contiguous hatches,

the shelf-like main deck, and the` transverse main-deck beams E. Neverbefore in ship construction has there been constructed a ship so free inthe hold of frame members,

and consequently so well adapted to the employment of the labor-savingvessel-unloading machinery found at the ore-receiving docks.

As heretofore stated, the described construction is especially suited tothe ore-carrying trade on the Great Lakes. It is desirable, however;that ships engaged in this trade shall also be adaptable for carryinggraina cargo especially liable to shift from one side of the ship to theother in heavy weather. To prevent such movement of the grain, shiftingboards may be used, said shifting boards forming a longitudinalpartition in the hold at such an elevation that the lower edges of theseboards will project a short distance below the surface ofthe grain. Theshifting boards shown in the drawings consistof two members fn n', ofWhichlthe member n is hinged on a vertical pivot to the bulkheads- Theouter mem-- ber n' is hinged on a vertical pivot to the or othersuitable support.

free end of the member n. These two members n n', so connected with eachother and with the bulkheads, are capable of being fold-- hull havinginternal vertical side frame members, vertical stanchions rising frompoints above the center keelson and midway between the hatches, eachconsisting of two members secured together from their lower ends uptothe points near their upper ends, from which points said membersdiverge, transverse spardeck beams secured to the side frame members andto the diverging upper ends of the stanchion members, transverse main-deck beams composed of two members which are connected together and toa stanchion and have diverging outer ends which are connected with thevertical side frame members, whereby the deck-beams are supported by thestanchions and serve to tie the sides of the hull together,substantially as specified.

2. In ship construction the combination of a hull having internalvertical side frame members, stanchions rising from points above thecenter keelson and midway between the hatches and extended up to thespar-deck, each stanchion consisting of two channelbars secured togetherback to back from their lower ends up to a point near the upper deck,from which point they diverge fore and aft, transverse spar-deck beamssecured to the side frame members and to the diverging upper ends of thestanchion members maindeck beams consisting of channel-bars securedtogether back to back but diverging at their outer ends, said main-deckbeams being secured to said stanchions and having their outer divergingends secured to the vertical frame members, substantially as specified.

l 3. In ship construction the combination of a hull having internalvertical side frame members, stanchions rising from points above thecenter keelson and midway between the hatches and each consisting of twochannelbars secured together back to back but diverging at their upperends", transverse spardeck beams secured to the frame members,transverse gusset-plates connecting the upper ends of said stanchionmembers with said deck-beams, longitudinal gusset-plates connectingtogether the diverging upper ends of the stanchion members, andtransverse maindeck beams secured `to said stanchions and having attheir outer ends diverging arms which are connected with side framemembers, substantially as specified.

4. In ship construction, the combination of a hull having internalvertical side frame members, stanchions rising from points above thecenter keelson and midway between the hatches, each stanchion consistingof two channel-bars riveted together back to back but having diver-gingupper ends, transverse spar-deck beams secured to the side frame membersand to the diverging upper ends of the stanchion members,transversemain-deck beams each consisting of a bar e which lies in a transversegroove in the flanges of one of the stanchion members and is riveted tothe stanchions and has its ends bent out of line andsecured to two ofsaid. side frame IOO IIO

members, and two bars e e' which are butted against the stanchions onopposite sides and extend therefrom toward the sides of the hull andhave their ends bent out of line and secured to the side frame members,gussetplates lying on opposite sides of the stanchion and between thedeck-beam members e e and secured to said deck-beam members, andangle-irons fastened to said gusset-plates and to the stanchions,substantially as specified.

5. In ship construction the combination of a hull having internalvertical side frame members, a plurality of hatches in the spardeck,bulkheads extending transversely across the hold and secured to thehull, vertical stanchions rising from points above the center keelsonand midway between the hatches and having diverging arms at their upperends, transverse spar-deck beams secured to the side frame members andto the diverging upper ends of said stanchions, transverse main-deckbeams which are secured to said stanohions and having diverging endswhich are secured to the side frame members, substantially as specified.

6. In ship construction the combination of a hull having internal sideframe members,

bulkheads extending across the hold at suitable intervals and secured tothe hull, and shifting boards, each consisting of two mem- .bers hing'edtogether on a vertical pivot, and a hinge connection between one memberof each shifting board and an adjacent bulkhead, substantially asspecified.

7. In vship construction, the combination of a hull and vertical framemembers in the hold midway between the sides of the Vessel,shifting-board sections hinged to said frame members, and othershifting-board sections respectively hinged to the outer ends of thesections :first referred to, whereby the two connected members of theshifting-boards are capable of being folded together and then swungaround into a position crosswise of the ship, or unfolded and swung intoa position lengthwise of the ship, substantially as I specified.l

In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix my signature in the presence oftwo witnesses.

AUGUSTUS B. WOLVIN.

Witnesses:

FRANK H. SHIPE, C. M. COLLINS.

